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PHOENIX (AP) Luis Scola scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half and the Phoenix Suns beat the Philadelphia 76ers 95-89 Wednesday night to snap a six-game losing streak.
Goran Dragic added 20, Shannon Brown scored 12, and Marcin Gortat had 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Suns.
Jrue Holliday had 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his second career triple-double for the 76ers, who are 2-7 in the second half of back-to-back games. Dorell Wright and Thaddeus Young had 14 points apiece for Philadelphia.
Holliday found Wright breaking down the left baseline from halfcourt for an alley-oop layup that pulled the 76ers within 87-85 with 2:16 to go.
But Dragic made a pair of free throws, P.J. Tucker hit a 16-footer and the 76ers turned the ball over twice over the next minute as the Suns opened a 91-85 lead.
The Suns played the second half without backup point guard Sebastian Telfair, who was shut down after halftime with soreness in his left knee.
Phoenix led by seven after the first but quickly fell into its normal second-quarter lull. Nick Young had a pair of 3-pointers and Wright added five points as the 76ers outscored the Suns 17-6 to start the period and open a 41-37 lead.
But it was Philadelphia that came out cold in the second half. Scola had consecutive baskets and Jared Dudley added a 21-foot jumper to key an 8-2 run that put the Suns ahead 56-51 with 9:38 left in the third quarter.
Lavoy Allen cut the lead to 60-59 on a 19-footer with 6:34 left in the period but the 76ers could pull no closer.
NOTES: Scola has scored 20 or more in three straight games. . Phoenix has won five of its past seven at home. . The Sixers are six games into a season-high, eight-game holiday road trip. . Phoenix beat Philadelphia for the first time since February 24, 2010. . Dragic had a career-high three blocks, as many as the 76ers as a team. . More than 1,200 Kansas State fans, in town for Thursday's Fiesta Bowl against Oregon, were in the arena and were chanting for former Wildcat Michael Beasley to enter the game. They also booed Suns forward Markieff Morris, who played at Kansas.


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The Icarus Syndrome: The Role of Air Power Theory in the Evolution and Fate of the U.S. Air Force by Carl Builder. He published this book in 1994 and I wish I had read it 20 years ago as a new Air Force second lieutenant. Builder makes many interesting points in the book, but in this brief post I'd like to emphasize one of his concluding points: the importance of a mission statement.
Builder offers the following when critiquing the Air Force's mission statement, or lack thereof, around the time of his study:
[Previous] Air Force of Staff, General John P. McConnell, reportedly endorsed the now-familiar slogan
The mission of the Air Force is to fly and fight.
Sometime later, the next Chief, General John D. Ryan, took pains to put it more gruffly:
The job of the Air Force is to fly and to fight, and don't you ever forget it. (p 266)
I remember hearing "Fly, Fight, Win" in the 1990s as well.
Builder correctly criticizes these mission statements on multiple grounds, none more compelling than this: how are non-flyers supposed to interpret this statement? It's simply a reminder and reinforcement of the second-class status of non-flyers in the Air Force. Furthermore, Builder more or less also notes that "fight" is often eclipsed but non-combat missions, such as airlift or humanitarian relief. Finally, Builder doesn't ask the question explicitly, but how does one define "winning"? Would wars in Iraq or Afghanistan be a "win"? That's a demoralizing way to think in my opinion.
Builder offers a wonkish, but conceptually more useful, mission statement on p 284:
The mission of the Air Force is the military control and exploitation of the aerospace continuum in support of the national interests.
The author immediately notes that one Air Force officer criticized Builder's mission statement as too "academic," but I think this particular policy wonk is on target.
Curious as to what the current Air Force mission statement says, I checked the Our Mission page and read at the top:
The mission of the United States Air Force is to fly, fight and win … in air, space and cyberspace.
Wow. That's even worse than before. Not only does it still insult non-flyers, but now the mission involves "flying" in "cyberspace."
I strongly suggest Air Force leaders read Builder's book. It's as relevant today as it was 20 years ago.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Air Force Leaders Should Read This Book
Posted by Richard Bejtlich at 21:56 1 comment:
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subset: commoncrawl


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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc has launched a trade-in program in its U.S. retail stores for older models of its iPhone as it gears up for the launch of a new version of the smartphone, it said on Friday.
Apple will give customers a credit for their old phones to be used toward the purchase of a new model, an Apple spokeswoman said.
A thriving industry exists for older versions of smartphones, especially the iPhone, on websites such as eBay and Gazelle. Even broken iPhones can fetch as much as $125 from vendors, who resell them in the United States and internationally.
Gazelle Chief Executive Israel Ganot estimated the used smartphone and tablet market in the United States will reach $14 billion by 2015.
"So there's obviously a huge opportunity here for multiple players," he said.
Apple shares dipped nearly 1 percent to $487.46.
Reporting by Poornima Gupta; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.


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Main menu:
Dear Travelers!
The Mayan Adventure caters all your needs in and around Flores, Guatemala. Consider our large range of tour offers to the jungle and archaeological sites, book a hotel in Flores or close to the Mayan site of your choice, study Spanish, and read some important Guatemala travel information before embarking on your adventurous jungle trip!
In 2004, we opened Café Arqueológico Yaxha in Flores, Guatemala and began offering archaeological tours to visitors who were looking for comprehensive background information about Mayan sites. The Mayan Adventure offers trips to the famous sites of Tikal and Yaxha, jungle hikes to El Zotz and Tikal, and support such small Mayan sites as La Blanca. We arrange tours to Mayan sites that travelers usually do not have the opportunity to visit, giving visitors a deep insight into the scientific work at sites currently under investigation. Our aim is to attract more people who will help us to protect Mayan sites in Guatemala.
Our most popular tours
Visit the famous Mayan site Tikal
Tikal is the second biggest and most monumental archaeological site in Guatemala. It is located only one hour from Flores and is easy to reach by car. Make your visits to Tikal unforgettable with the experience of our tour guides! Read more.
Jungle hike from El Zotz to Tikal
Live in the jungle for 3 days! Hike an average of 5 hours per day, sleep in jungle camps and eat food cooked on wood fires. Explore two archaeological sites and watch the bats fly out of a cave at El Zotz. The jungle trip to El Zotz and Tikal is a real adventure. You should be in good physical condition to participate. Read more.
Yaxha, an amazing site at the lake Yaxha
Being the third biggest Mayan site in Guatemala, Yaxha invites its visitors to admire high temple pyramids, large palace acropolises and broad sacred roads. Our guides give you a tour with comprehensive information about Yaxha. Read more.


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1. Offer 1: 15% discount on food and soft beverages
2. Validity Period: From 15-08-18 till 14-08-19
1) The customer is expected to ask for the RuPay offer before the bill is generated.
2) The customer has to make the payment using his/her RuPay card in order to avail the offer.
Store Location/ Website Link Details:
Location: 7/8, lane, Opp Lilavati Hospital, ONGC Colony, Bandra West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400050
Website: NA
***In case of any offer related queries kindly contact:
Contact Number: +91-80-49590003
Email Id: firstname.lastname@example.com
How to report customer grievance: Via email
1. The offer is valid for a period of 12 months.
2. The offer is valid on dine-in and not on delivery and take away.
3. The offer is valid only on A la carte dining.
4. The above offer is passed on to the customer seamlessly by the staff provided the RuPay Cardholder pays by his/her RuPay Card and asks about the discount
5. The above offer will be applicable only if the customers pays the final bill with a RuPay Card.
6. The above offer will have the following blackout dates – 1st Jan, 26th Jan, 14th Feb, 15th Aug, 2nd Oct, 24th Dec, 25Th Dec, and 31st Dec. Offers will not be extended on these dates.
7. Extending offers to RuPay Cardholders is subject to seating availability and the completion of dining by the Cardholder.
8. Any of the above offers cannot be clubbed with any other offer.


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207 South Tennessee Avenue
LaFollette, TN 37766
Phone: (423) 562-4961
Fax: (423) 563-0703
The Administrative Office of the City performs various duties for the citizens, Mayor and City Council, and the other departments of the City. These responsibilities include the archiving of all ordinances, resolutions, and minutes of City Council meetings. The Administrative office operates under the direct supervision of the City Administrator, who is the chief executive officer of the City. The Administrative Office is comprised of three offices with distinct functions to help better the efficient operations of the City and to also better serve the needs of our citizens and community. The Administrative Office is comprised of the City Administrator's Office, the City Clerk's Office, and the Finance Department. For more details of the functions performed by these offices, you may visit their sites by following the links below.
The Administrative Office is located in the municipal building.
The municipal building is open from 7:30 AM until 5:00 PM, Monday-Friday.
The municipal building is closed on Saturdays and Sundays.
LaFollette City Council Workshop is scheduled for Monday, August 31, 2020 at 5:30 pm at the LaFollette Municipal Building located at 207 South Tennessee Avenue. A Public Hearing will be held prior to the Tuesday evening's meeting on Ordinance 2020-03 amending Chapter 3 section 13-306 of the Municipal Code Rubbish Control. The LaFollette City Council Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 1, 2020 at 5:30 pm at the LaFollette Municipal Building located at 207 South Tennessee Avenue.
Campbell County ATV Open Roads
Campbell County
Caryville ATV Ordinance
LaFollette ATV Ordinance
House Bill 743
Visit us and our friends on Facebook!
City of LaFollette
City of LaFollette Police Department
City of LaFollette Fire Department
LaFollette Public Library
Big Creek Fall ATV Festival
Big Creek Gap RV Park
Santa Trot 5K


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Tree Glass Cabochon Necklace Bronze Chain Pendant Necklace
Material: Alloy
Color: Bronze
Gender: Women
Shape: Round
Pattern: Tree
Size: 52cm+3cm
Weight: About 30g
Package Includes:
1 X Tree Necklace
1.Due to the difference between different monitors, the picture may not reflect the actual color of the item. Please consider this before the purchase.
2.Please allow slight deviation for the measurement data.


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One of the worst fears of a student, besides being called into the Principal's office, is arguably the word "failure", marked in stark red at the top of a test, like a fire-hot brand pointing accusingly at him or her. This seemingly tortuous word is employed in a few ways within the education system - it may be used as a concept to reflect the academic performance of a student, to grade a physical assignment or test, and even as a spoken criticism used by teachers on under performing students. Education's purpose, broadly speaking, is to transfer knowledge to students, and a means to gauge the degree to which the student has gained knowledge is through these tests and assignments. The use of this term is important, nonetheless, as part of education - it is important as a grading standard to both students and the school, and also serves as a means for students to improve. Its eradication then, loses its benefits and also creates new problems for education systems.
Opponents of the term's use would claim that its use as a concept is unfair, because there have been many instances where children have been cast aside as "failures", though they grow up to succeed eventually. However, the concept of failure is an important one because it is an invariable constant in everyone's lives - teaching children of it and getting them to experience it is the first step to exposing them to the real world, as one cannot hope to succeed in all their endeavours. Having said this, education which intends to teach students more than just facts but also skills, should incorporate skills such as the ability to deal with these failures in life. The blow to students whenever they encounter failure increases with time, because stakes increase - not only is a matter of a single assignment, but also rejection from job interviews, relationships and the like. Besides, the concept of failure does not vanish merely because the word is used - rather failure is something that permeates through all things competitive. Instead of fearing the word "failure", the grade "E" becomes the replacement for it, which covertly refers to the failure of the student in that test. Having understood that failure cannot be avoided throughout life, dealing with it head-on by introducing the concept openly to students will teach students to confront their fears, and to improve themselves to prevent another "failure". The concept of failure is something that must be embraced by students as life's constant, and they must learn to deal with it appropriately - education cannot seek to hide these important concepts of life from students if it is to achieve its goals of transferring knowledge.
Critics would assert that grading assignments as a "failure" deals too great an emotional blow to growing children, and teachers should refrain from using the term within the educational structure. This would purportedly cause students' academic performance to drop instead. Despite this claim, the importance of the grade supersedes the emotional loss. the value of the term is most evident in its meaning. Assignments and tests are meant to guide the process of education, because it serves as a measure of the proficiency of the student in a specific area. For instance, a biology test tests the ability of the student to synthesise information given to him about the human body, to interpret graphs, and be able to identify certain traits and symptoms. Hence, a student who is deemed a "failure" in the test has not succeeded in obtaining the skills deemed by his teachers to be important. Not only does this mean that labelling the work submitted by the student to be a "failure" is a fair decision, it also alerts the student to his insufficiency. Besides the school can better understand the groups of people that need help with a particular subject or topic from the grade given. Second, the emotional blow can be softened by different stakeholders. Parents are there to help children along the way, and encourage them to keep trying, as Winston Churchill would advocate - "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts". Thus, using "failure" to grade a piece of work is fair and beneficial.
Some would continue to argue that teachers must act as a form of encouragement for their students, and should not label their students as failures, which would cause them to be shunned. Instead, they should give encouraging grades which would instill positive attitudes. While it is true that teachers should not be careless with criticisms, most teachers are responsible with their words, and more often than not the word is meant as a tool for incentivising greater effort from students for them to attain better performances. On the other hand, the elimination of the term "failure" only generates the problem of grade inflation, and decreased standards of education. To relieve themselves of the conundrum of having to give low scores, teachers would decide to reveal answers before a test, give more marks than is due, and award passing grades to even the lowest of scores. This is the reason why Nancy Gibbs, who recently ascended the role of Time's editor, commented in an article that the American education system often gives students false hopes, as they expect to be competing for the top jobs with their "stellar" results, often the result of artificially inflated grades or extremely easy tests and examinations. Keeping students blind to the globe's requirements is a huge problem especially in today's hyper connected, globalised world that requires competition with not just the local students but also those from all around the world. Hence, the forced removal of the term "failure" causes success and achievement to lose its relative meaning, and instead only fosters false hopes that will harm students in the future.
It is as Samuel Beckett, Irish novelist, says "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." Only when we acknowledge our failure, can we identify reasons for our insufficiency and resolve these problems. Education should guide us in this direction, for failure is an inescapable situation that will exist, whether or not we use it as a word on assignments or on students' performance in general. Its absence, however, only generates falsified confidence in students, beckoning them towards failure once they leave school. Therefore, failure should be used in education, both taught as a concept and as a remark to push students towards bettering themselves.


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Brush fire destroys 10 homes in Marion County
Brush fire destroys 10 homes in Marion County
04 March 2013
published by www.clickorlando.com
USA — OCALA, Fla – Strong winds and very dry conditions helped fuel several brush fires that broke out in Central Florida over the weekend, leaving thousands of acres scorched and nearly a dozen homes destroyed.
Firefighters on Monday continue to battle a nearly 2,000-acre brush fire that destroyed 10 homes in Marion County and forced officials to close a roadway.
The fire started Saturday afternoon in the Ocala National Forest and quickly grew to 1,900 acres, fire officials said. The blaze was 80 percent contained as of Monday morning.
State Road 19 was closed near State Road 40 for hours because of the fast-moving fire that burned through more than 20 buildings. Officials reopened the roadway around 8 a.m. Monday.
No injuries were reported, but fire officials said 24 buildings, including the 10 houses, were destroyed by the blaze.
Jimmie Becraft lost his car and his boat as parts of his yard continue to burn.
"Grabbed a water hose and started spraying wherever I could," Becraft said of fighting the fire.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Many of the people who live in the Sportman's Haven area inside the Ocala National Forest stayed through evacuation orders to fight for each other's homes.
Neighbors described the flames as towering into the sky and spitting basketball-sized fireballs. They say that's why some houses are destroyed and others look untouched.
Walter Lunsford estimates he lost almost $30,000 when his tool shed burned to the ground, yet his home was spared.
"I'm very happy for what I do have because there's friends and family that lost everything. They don't have nothing," said Lunsford.
His sister's house no longer exists. It's just a charred frame.
"Everything that she owned was in that house. It's gone. There's nothing saveable at all," he said.
Firefighters were still working Monday to control to the fire that's 80 percent contained. A spokesman for the Florida Forest Service said they're in the mopping up stages, making sure smoldering areas don't reignite.
The American Red Cross is assisting families displaced by the fire. For information about help call 407-894-4141.
Meanwhile, a brush fire scorched more than 1,100 acres in Volusia County, forcing the evacuation of dozens of homes.
The blaze, dubbed the Durrance Fire by officials, initially broke out on Friday in Ormond Beach. As of Monday morning, the fire was 85 percent contained, officials said.
Fire officials said flames came dangerously close to homes on Arabian, Lipizzan, Warden, Baha and Durrance trails, but none was burned.
The evacuation notice was lifted Sunday evening.
Fire crews from Volusia and Flagler counties, the Florida Forest Service, and every city fire department in Volusia County helped battle the blaze.
The cause of the Volusia fire also remains under investigation.
Watch Local 6 News and stay with ClickOrlando.com for more on this story.


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Fall Hunting Forecast
Fall Hunting Forecast
Turkey and Deer will provide the best hunting opportunities this fall. Several turkey nests and broods were observed throughout the summer. Turkeys are very susceptible to hunting pressure and disturbance, and can easily be pushed off a small area like St. Francis. Early season hunting should provide the best chances for success.
Early muzzle loader and archery seasons will provide the best opportunities for deer. Don't forget the Youth deer season (Sept. 5-13). This is an excellent opportunity to introduce a young person to the sport.


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Macquarie has been at the forefront of the internationalisation of Australian securitisation. We have introduced many Australian issuers to offshore institutional investor markets as global circumstances evolved and opportunities for optimal execution arose.


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Looking for age-appropriate book recommendations, author interviews, and fun activity ideas? Check out our podcasts.
Home › Classroom Resources › Calendar Activities
Calendar Activities See All Calendar Activities
Not your everyday calendar, here you can find important events in literary history, authors' birthdays, and a variety of holidays, all with related activities and resources that make them more relevant to students. View by day, by week, or by month.
September 15, 2020
Latinx Heritage Month begins today.
Students brainstorm all the various aspects of Latinx culture and compile topics to research. Groups then research topics and present their information to the class.
Grades 5 – 12
Types of Calendar Activities
Authors & Texts
Birthdays, publication dates, and more
Historical Figures & Events
Notable people and happenings in history
Holidays & School Celebrations
Special days and how to observe them
Literacy-Related Events
Celebrations that promote and encourage literacy


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This week, we discuss Scott Thompson, Yahoo's CEO, allegedly lying on his resume about having a CS degree. Later, we explore a couple of exciting rumors of Apple lowering the price of their Macbook Air to $799, plus their upcoming HDTV offering.
See the full post at Geeks of Doom
The Drill Down on iTunes (Subscribe now!)
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Geeks Of Doom's The Drill Down is a roundtable-style audio podcast where we discuss the most important issues of the week, in tech and on the web and how they affect us all.
Hosts are Geeks of Doom contributor Andrew Sorcini (Mr. BabyMan), VentureBeat editor Devindra Hardawar, marketing research analyst Dwayne De Freitas, and Startup Digest CTO Christopher Burnor. Occasionally joining them is Techmeme editor Lidija Davis.


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|30 mins
6 hours chilling
Prep Time
Cook Time
- 250g granita biscuits
- 125g butter, melted
- 100g dark cooking chocolate, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup thickened cream
- Extra Perfection Blueberries & edible flowers, to decorate
- 125g Perfection Fresh Blueberries
- 2 x 250g blocks cream cheese, chopped, softened
- 1/2 cup caster sugar
- 1/2 cup thick caramel spread, (we used Bonne Maman brand)
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tbs cornflour
- 250g sour cream
- Preheat oven to 150°C fan forced. Invert base of a 22cm (base) springform cake pan. Grease and line base with baking paper.
- Process biscuits in a food processor until finely crushed. Add butter. Process until combined. Press over the base and three-quarters of the way up the side of the prepared pan. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
- For the filling; Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar and caramel spread until smooth. Add egg yolks and corn flour, mix well. Fold in sour cream, then the blueberries. Spoon into prepared pan and smooth the top. Place onto a flat tray, bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until just set. Turn off the oven. Cool in the oven with door ajar for 1 hour. Remove. Refrigerate for 6 hours, or overnight until firm.
- Combine chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl. Sit over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until melted and smooth. Cool slightly. Spread the chocolate mixture evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Refrigerate until set. Decorate with extra blueberries, just before serving.
Tip- Cheesecake should have a slight wobble when cooked. Keep stored in the fridge.
Tip- For crystalized blueberries to decorate, roll berries in lightly beaten egg white then in caster sugar. Refrigerate for 30 minutes


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Contact us
If you'd like to talk to me, Kathie Hodge, the Chief Editor and Blogification Artist, you may email me. Before you do, kindly have a look at our FAQs.
Blog entries have been contributed by various Cornell faculty, staff, and students–find out about the regulars here. We must insist that you should not use our images and stories to identify mushrooms to eat–please find an expert or acquire the skill to judge edibility for yourself. Not many mushrooms are potentially fatal, but it's not worth taking the risk. If you find an error in one of our posts, please let me know and I'll do my best to correct it.
Dr. Kathie T. Hodge
Associate Professor of Mycology, and
Director, Cornell Plant Pathology Herbarium
Dept. of Plant Pathology
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
email: kh11[at]cornell dot edu


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Cotton candy spectacle at Stage
Brie attacks the pineapple cotton candy
Apparently, we're never too old for cotton candy. Amid three other more sophisticated desserts at Stage—a brown-butter banana tart, chocolate panna cotta, and chocolate ganache with popcorn ice cream—the pineapple cotton candy stole the scene. Have you ever heard four girls squeal all at once? Bring a beehive-tall cotton candy to the table and you will.
Stage's pastry chef Cainan Sabey, changes the flavors about once a month—blueberry, green apple, watermelon, strawberry and banana have made appearances in the past—and occasionally he'll make a vanilla bean or li-hing-flavored cotton candy.
In the beginning, the sugar cloud played the supporting role to an ice-cream cake, but, ultimately, "people just wanted cotton candy," Sabey says. It's simply sugar and flavoring, spun in a machine (Sabey's on his second cotton-candy machine, having worn out the first one), and yet, at Stage, it still brings out our childlike wonder (or, in Brie's case, inner monster child).
Not feeling childish? Other desserts at Stage are also worth mentioning (and hold our palate's interest for longer), such as Sabey's ever popular Vietnamese-style coffee flan topped with coconut sorbet and a chocolate crunch.
Stage at the Honolulu Design Center, 237-5429, stagerestauranthawaii.com


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The ocean marine business is highly competitive and moves quickly. Know-how is pivotal in building a thriving business, and in delivering the right solution to help protect it.
As a longtime leading provider of ocean and recreational marine insurance products, International Marine Underwriters® (IMU) can be your competitive advantage. Our exceptional expertise, regional focus and financial stability means you will receive tailored coverages to handle your particular risk exposures, and local knowledge and dependable protection to help you maintain your competitive edge. Additionally, our network of claims professionals in more than 150 countries will help to ensure that you experience a fair and expedient claim resolution process.IMU; in today's marine marketplace, these three letters can make all the difference.


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Downland Complete Micro Fibre Bed Set - 10.5 Tog Duvet and Pillows (King)
Luxurious and comfortable, the Downland Complete Microfibre Bed Set offers a fibre alternative to natural down.
Microfibre is a revolutionary light and fine polyester fibre which is air-blown into the duvet's outer casing for a better 'loft' and softness. This is designed to emulate the characteristics and feel of a duck-and-goose-down duvet. The soft microfibre provides comfort and warmth whilst you sleep.
Cover: 100% Polyester Microfibre
Filling: 100% Polyester Hollowfibre
Care guide:
- Machine wash 40 degrees
- Do not bleach
- Cool tumble dry
- Do not iron
- Do not dry clean
- 1 x King 10.5 Tog Duvet
- 2 x Pillows
Delivery and Returns
Ordered items are usually despatched within 5 to 7 working days
Most deliveries require someone to accept and sign for the delivery to ensure the goods are received correctly. To help you we can arrange for delivery to be made elsewhere. Click here for more information.
We hope you like your purchase, however, if you are not entirely satisfied with any item, it can be sent back to us for a refund, provided it is returned within 14 days after delivery has been made (unless otherwise specified). Please click here for more information.


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Chiefs release WR Breaston, TE Boss
BY foxsports • February 20, 2013
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) The Kansas City Chiefs have released wide receiver Steve Breaston and tight end Kevin Boss as part of their roster overhaul under new coach Andy Reid and general manager John Dorsey.
The team announced the moves Tuesday in a statement on its website.
Breaston was lured to Kansas City in 2011 by former coach Todd Haley and general manager Scott Pioli, and signed a $22.5 million, five-year deal. But he fell out of favor last season under coach Romeo Crennel, catching seven passes for 74 yards in 10 games.
Boss signed $9 million, three-year deal last offseason, but only had three catches for 65 yards before sustaining a season-ending concussion in Week 2 against Buffalo.
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Making technology work for you...
While Windows built-in Add/Remove system tool efficiently takes care of the job, tools like Advanced Uninstaller and Easy Uninstaller adds an addtional layer of funtionality and ease-of-use to tackle the task. While all three of them can handle the duty of getting software uninstalled from your system, a user must make it's own choice on what to keep and what to remove. To help make that tough decision, cloud-connected and crowd-powered freeware for Windows "Should I Remove It" scans all the installed applications on your computer and ranks them based on what other users have kept or removed.
This approach efficiently helps users identify and remove unwanted software's which others are uninstalling like spyware, adware and bloatware.
Looking for a complete utility suite for uninstalling applications and keeping your computer fast and clean, Advanced Uninstaller PRO is for you. You can not only uninstall programs quickly and completely using its simple and intuitive interface, the utility also comes with an "Installation Monitor" which keeps an watch on all actions performed by an installer so later it can be completely uninstalled, making sure nothing is left behind leaving any trace.
Apart from the uninstaller module, the utility features Services Manager, Duplicate Files Manager, Startup Manager, Registry cleaner - optimizer, defragmenter, and backup tools.


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By Jason Miks
GPS digital producer Jason Miks sits down with renowned evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, author of the Selfish Gene and An Appetite for Wonder, to discuss readers' questions on religion, its role in society and whether children can be described as "Christian."
A number of readers noting your skepticism over religion's role in society ask whether an absence of religion would leave us without a moral compass?
The very idea that we get a moral compass from religion is horrible. Not only should we not get our moral compass from religion, as a matter of fact we don't. We shouldn't, because if you actually look at the bible or the Koran, and get your moral compass from there, it's horrible – stoning people to death, stoning people for breaking the Sabbath.
Now of course we don't do that anymore, but the reason we don't do it is that we pick out those verses of the bible that we like, and reject those verses we don't like. What criteria do we use to pick out the good ones and reject the bad ones? Non-biblical criteria, non-religious criteria. The same criteria as guide any modern person in their moral compass that has nothing to do with religion.
So the moral compass of any person is very much a part of the century or even the decade in which they happen to live, regardless of their religion. So we live in the early 21st century, and our moral compass in the early 21st century is quite different from 100 years ago, or 200 years ago. We are now much less racist than they were, much less sexist than they were. We are much kinder than non-human animals than they were – all sorts of respects in which we are labeled with a moral compass. So something has changed, and it certainly has nothing to do with religion.
You've been travelling to the States from the U.K. for a number of years. Have you noticed much of a change in the place of religion in the two countries over that time?
Notoriously, the United States is the most religious of the Western advanced nations. It's a bit mysterious why that is. In Britain, Christianity is dying. Islam, unfortunately, isn't. In Western Europe generally, Christianity is dying. Even in America, the figures show that religious adherence is being steadily reduced, and the people who now record themselves as having no religious affiliation is something like 20 percent. Many people don't recognize what a high figure it is, and so politicians here who feel they have to curry favor with religious lobbies should maybe take a look at those statistics and realize that not everyone in this country is religious.
You say it's a bit of a mystery why America is so much more religious than other advanced countries. Do you have any thoughts on why it might be? Tied to that question of disposition, several readers also wondered if there is a genetic predisposition toward faith?
There probably is, but I don't think that really explains why America is so different from Britain. The least implausible suggestion that I've heard is that Britain and Scandinavian countries, which are also very non-religious, have an established church, and that kind of makes religion boring. Whereas in America, there is constitutionally a bar against an established church, and that could be one reason why religion has become so popular – it has become big business, it has become free enterprise, rival churches vie with each other for congregations and especially tax free ties.
Some readers see you as very evangelical in your atheism. Do you feel it a duty, just as some Christians might to share the word of God, to spread an atheist point of view?
Duty is a funny word. But when you say evangelical, I like to think that I don't shout or shriek, but employ a quiet, sober voice of reason. And reason is on our side.
You've talked about feeling uncomfortable with the impact of religion on children. In fact, one reader asked whether you would prefer to see no under-18s at church. What's your take?
I certainly wouldn't wish to prohibit parents influencing their children. However, for the rest of the world, to label a child a Catholic child simply because its parents are Catholic, seems to me to be a form of child abuse. The child is too young to know.
You can see the absurdity of talking about a Catholic child of four when you think what it would be like if we talked about an existentialist child of four, or a logical positivist of four. In other words, we wouldn't accept the labeling of a child based the parents' belief, so why do we accept it when it's religion? Why does religion get a free pass when it comes to labeling children in this way?
From my nearly 6 decades of life I have known myself to have a great propensity for evil thought. These evil thoughts have mostly been "checked" by my adherence to New Testament biblical morality. My evil thoughts have not been acted upon. It is to my community a good thing that this has been the case.
do you not understand the simplest rule that is instinctual in every man? here's a hint... its golden.... would your evil thoughts have brought pain and suffering onto others? would that pain and suffering have come back to you? its so simple a child can understand it .. why can't you...
Kenny do you have children?
"Instinct"? Did you read your answer before clicking 'reply'?
Is just another word for moral compass, that Dawkins claims doesn't exist.
Animals have instincts, but no jails. (That's called logic with a dash of evidence). Done.
With no religion, I got involved in all kinds of bad stuff. I never hurt anyone, so I never broke the golden rule, but God knows I sure hurt myself a whole lot. Jesus pulled me out of the mire. So many people can claim there is no God, and that's fine, but nothing anyone can say can take away from first hand, actual, real, experimental knowledge I have of God.
That's what atheists can't argue against. They say, 'You can't prove God exists.' No, I can't. But why are you looking to me to handle that question for you to begin with? Why ask me to prove God when you can allow God to prove Himself to you?
He doesn't say that a moral compass doesn't exist. He says that it doesn't come from religion. Hence why Christians pick and choose what to follow.
Um, Jim, you clearly didn't read the interview. Dawkins explicitly states they he DOES believe in a moral compass; that compass, however, is not and should not be based on religious doctrine. Please take a refresher course on reading skills.
I strongly agree. Left to my own devices I'm a bad person.
You too are hiding behind religion. I can go read the yellow pages and tell you it helped me make a good decision, but you could not prove me wrong. What a sham religion has become. You, your preacher nor any other person knows what happens when people die. When I'm dead I am as dead as a dead dog.
A comment like that from a Texan makes me think that things are getting better overall.
Religion is my efforts to get to God. Doomed to frustration.. A relationship WITH God is different. Peace with God is only by his Doing at the cross where should recognize God's way to be saved.
i feel so sorry for you......
People like you use religion all the time to justify their decisions. If you act out on what you call an evil thought, you and you alone should be held responsible for the decision. Also, you are responsible for deciding to not act out. Please drop the false premise that religion is doing something related to your decision. It's your deal no matter what you say about religion.
Exactly! Religion is a scapegoat AND a crutch. We alone are responsible for our choices and our actions. Some people who were raised in abusive situations become abusers themselves. Others (like my Dad) rise above it BY CHOICE and become amazing people. Religion also gives people an "out" - gee I'm sorry I hurt you but I prayed for forgiveness so no you need to forgive me too since God did. No thanks. I'll take my belief in karma - what goes around comes around/you reap what you sow.
What I find odd is that my natural state of being is not one that involves constant thoughts of doing evil acts. I am not perfect but I don't seem to have the issue that you are plagued by. Despite this, and because I don't believe in your religion, I am the one who is considered to abnormal by most of American society.
Clearly, you need psychiatric care.
Oh, I have evil thoughts. Tons of them. Yet somehow my atheist self manages not to act on them, hmmm. Could that be because I'm an empathetic, sane human being?
but my question is why? From a purely Dawkins point of view, if you are actually a simple mistake or chance in biological evolution then you (or i) as really of no more relevance than an ant, spider, fly etc. as such it makes zero sense NOT to act on any and every impulse you have. That is EXACTLY what the ultimate result of Dawkins' religion is, of course he espouses that I am wrong and that 'human morality', 'empathy' etc. is the rule, but it has been proven that many people are without empathy or have very little of it. Does that make those with empathy somehow superior? Is it simply Dawkins who will decide? This man spews so much hate and drivel mixed together I am shocked that anyone actually listens to him.
I never said I was a fan of Dawkins- in fact, I'm not, I think he's a bit of a misogynist with a bad habit of extrapolating his personal experiences as a universal human experience. That doesn't mean he's always wrong, though, he's quite skilled biologist. He's just no my guru on atheism.
Humans are the result of evolution. Empathy is useful and is seen in other animal species, but not all species, as it's only a trait that's evolved if it is useful to the community (otherwise the empathetic or pre-empathetic would die). That doesn't mean there aren't outliers who are less empathetic due to genetics, environment, or brain injury, but generally humans have a degree of empathy in their neuro wiring. Ditto for other traits that create functioning human beings that don't do evil things.
That says a lot about you and it's all extremely disturbing. However, if you look at your holy book, you'll see that god often advocates the absolute worst of crimes in his name when it suits him. So I really hope you don't find those passages because if you do, your community may regret it.
Dawkins and the New Testament agree...Romans 2:14-15 says that the laws of right and wrong are written in men's hearts...that is why the Gentiles do by nature what is right. Religion has been in every society in history and helps keep the less intellectual and capable individuals in check by the elite. It does serve a purpose.
Anyone that gets guidance from that book of christian fiction they call the bible is simply combatting evil with evil. Try thinking for yourself once in a while. However after six decades I would say you're just hopeless. Maybe slightly nuts as well.
I believe that's the Id and Ego being checked by the Super-ego.
Jesus gives us a moral compass to love our neighbor although we have not always lived up to it over the centuries. Atheism has no dogma other than there is no God and thus cannot provide a moral compass. Dawkins seems to think morality is important but indicates morality is based on the times. Thus, you could conclude from this logic that living in Germany in 1935 it was moral to kill certain undesirable people to make room for the master race. So why could not that morality become valid again? In his book The Selfish Gene Dawkins claimed humans are robots. So again, no basis for holding humans morally responsible. But humans are not robots, have free will (which requires a supernatural source), and are morally responsible. Human bodies made up of natural phenomena (without a supernatural soul) would be controlled by the principles of science and therefore would have no ability to make free choices. See the book The Science of the Soul. Although people try to live by the Christian principle of love your neighbor, that will ultimately vanish over time if the philosophy of atheism takes over.
how do you not understand the golden rule... it is so simple... it is the basis for every rule... EVERY RULE... even towards our self... it is instinct... its is as old as the human race... children understand it... why can't you...
The golden rule of Dawkins is bound to a dead end. A sociopath killing someone else thinks he's doing something good, the golden rules wouldn't help much..
AtheistsAreEvils – its sad that you can't or don't want to understand.... what do you think creates a sociopath? what do you think stops him? ... i don't think i can help you understand ... you clearly don't want to
if you want to take the Dawkins golden rule so serious then good luck with that. You're talking about it like it like it would be the answer for everything. The golden rule is not something that will produce some kind of magic and will make the world a bettter place to be. To many cult leaders like Dawkins, Koresh and many more that could be a dangerous potential for a mass murdering.
if everyone understood the golden rule... the world would be at peace... sadly too many don't... even though it is sooooo simple... every time you hurt someone it spreads ... every time you help someone ... it spreads whether it comes back to you are not doesn't matter... it makes the world worse or better ... how do you not understand ... if we all understand... we would create heaven on earth beyond our wildest imaginations... one day it will come to pass... but only with more understanding...
It's too late for you Kenny, you've been brainwashed by Dawkins and his golden rule. No one can help you but yourself.
Clearly you don't have children. They are self-absorbed and selfish creatures (on good days). Ever seen fights at daycare between 2-year olds over toys? That ain't your Golden Rule, but is consistent with the Christian framework.
Score? Dawkins 0, me 1.
@ JIM "Score? Dawkins 0, me 1." ......Wow, I would not say that. I do have children and I am an atheist. I know that children are not the most moral creatures in the world but I do not believe it stems from original sin. Morality develops out of empathy and young children have not develop empathy and thus they fight over toys.
@ Everyone who states that I have "I have evil thoughts and without the bible I will do evil things" Paraphrasing of course. Well, let me tell you that way of thinking scares me beyond believe. First, evil and good are terms that are relative and not absolute. We do not live in a black and white world but rather it is just different shades of grey. I state this because to give the word any kind of meaning you have to give it a frame of reference. But anyways back to my point, We all have "evil thoughts" at time but I do not need God to tell me not to do something. I have empathy so I can put myself into the situation which helps me to not to do these "evil things" And if the only reason you do not do something "evil" is because some old book tells you so well that is just scaring.
The golden rule, as we know it, states: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Tell me, how would this apply to a masochist? Since a masochist would have others do harm to him, then him doing harm to others would be following the golden rule.
The golden rule is not the be-all and end-all of everything. And your continued posts in this regard are getting boring.
The "morality" of Germany in the thirties has repeated itself over and over again, with the massacre and slaughter of humans around the world, despite Christian morality. Christianity has been involved in oppression, slaughter, isolation of aboriginals, residential schools, sequestration of wealth and power, corruption, subordination and subjugation of women, intellectual elitism. Christianity and atheism are artifical human constructs, and in another century or two, perhaps humans will have developed a more sophisticated morality. To suggest that Christianity imparts any particular morality is pure folly. Nice moniker though.
Perhaps Christianity per se has failed to imbue humankind with a good moral compass. But I can assure you that if Christians actually lived what Jesus actually taught, then our example WOULD provide a pretty darn good moral compass for all.
Prisons are filled with Christians. Is there something wrong with their Christian moral compass? Why are Atheists less likely to be in prison? By your reasoning of Atheists lacking a moral compass, they should be the only ones inhabiting prison. Atheists don't need a bible to guide them on how to be moral. They have figured it out for themselves.
As Bart Simpson would say: "Doh!" In a country in which 76% of the people call themselves "Christian," it is not exactly a surprise to find that Christians represent ~75% of the prison population. Doh. (LOL) However, your implied point is also faulty: simply because someone self-proclaims as "Christian" does not make them so. Thus, many "Christians" who are in prison are not "Christian" in any meaningful sense of the word.
I am an athiest and I don't need any religion to tell me how to live a moral life. You choose to belief a book of fairy tales about whales swallowing people, talking snakes, trumpets bringing walls down, be my guest. Athiests say nothing more than think for yourself instead of allowing some religiious huckster like billy graham to do your thining for you. He claims to speak directly to god and tell you what god says. If you believe that rubbish and it helps you define morality have at it. I have a conscience and that's what seperates right from wrong, not some junk from the bible.
ok,, as elephant parents keep their young in line,, elephants don't have bibles.
In fact when adult elephants were killed for their tusks,, the young were free and destroyed villages. The solution? Bring the young to the adults. Results,, villages now spared.
Dawkins,100% silly poster who loves fantasy, zero.
Atheists can't disprove God exists to Christians and Christians will never prove God exists to Atheists; it's futile. Atheists like facts. So here are some facts, Christianity is the biggest religion in the world. So there is either something to Christianity or all Christians are just ignorant, close-minded, and live in a dream world. It's also quite ironic that Atheists care so much about a God that doesn't exist. The really cool part is that the Bible, which Atheists completely discredit, has an answer for everything Atheists bring up to refute God's existence. Another irony and hypocrisy of Atheists is that while Christians are close-minded, Atheists won't give the time of day to believing in any sort of potential of existence of God. Meanwhile, Christians know there are mysteries that can't be explain, but have faith in what God's word says....because if you actually open your mind and look around, there is plenty of proof to prove existence of God. So who is more close-minded? I could go on all day, but my favorite "argument" is that the Bible was written by men. Yes, absolutely... men, infallible in all ways, physically wrote the Bible. However, it was the word of God, written by men filled with God's spirit that wrote those words. Need proof? The Bible has many books that overlap and tell different accounts of the same stories. How do Atheists explain the similarities in these stories when the authors of these books lived hundreds of years apart? The fact of the matter is, there is more to prove there is a God than to prove their isn't. Bottom line is that Atheists just refuse to believe otherwise. And God has the ultimate answer to those who don't believe.... there will come a day will EVERY knee shall bow and EVERY tongue will confess that He is Lord. Pretty profound words for a "fairy tale". The really sad and crazy thing is that there is nothing to lose in believing in God and everything to gain... a life of hope, a life of purpose, and best of all, eternal life when we leave this world.
do you understand the golden rule... it is the basis of all rules... it is as old as the human race... we live by it with every decision we make... every single one... even those that only effect ourselves... a child can understand it... why can't you
K Kenny, I've seen this silly comment from you too often not to comment. People do NOT live by the 'Golden Rule" as you call it, many live in direct opposition to it. But I agree, the the golden rule as stated in Matth 17:12 is a good start.
"Christianity is the biggest religion in the world. So there is either something to Christianity or all Christians are just ignorant, close-minded, and live in a dream world."
Mind beaming messages asking for favors to some invisible universal manager that keeps track of such things? Um, I guess its the second one.
Ok Sweetie. Best reply ever, OK?!! 🙂
We don't have to disprove anything. You make the claim. You must prove it. I can make the claim that there is a loving unicorn living at the heart of the sun who communicates his holy word to me (And me only) through telepathy. He has anointed me his representative here on earth and I shall be given a palace to live in and many, many playboy models for wives. You can't disprove that, can you?
Yes, there are millions of Christians, and they're all living in a dream world because it comforts them when they're afraid of the dark. There is NOTHING to Christianity at all. Millions of people that the song, "Barbie Girl" was awesome, too, and they were all wrong. Besides, if that's the case, Islam must be real too, right? There's millions of them. Jews? Hindus? MILLIONS OF EM. Must be something to that, too. You disagree? Ah, thought you might. You're an atheist when it comes to their god. Just not to your own (Funny, huh?).
The only reason we give a tinker's damn about your god is because you keep forcing it on us and using our tax dollars to fund your little dreamworld. Separation of CHURCH and STATE, understand? Not to mention how often your beliefs hold back scientific and social advancement.
The bible has an answer for everything we can bring up to refute god's existence? Does the bible have an answer as to why, when Jesus rose from the dead and everyone in the area rose out of their graves with him and had a big reunion with their families, no one in Rome recorded it... ever? Even if you could prove your god exists, I would STILL stand against him because of the odious things he does and says and preaches. Don't like the old testament god and what happens there? Guess you don't like the 10 commandments, either. They're in the O.T. You can't just pick and choose. Either it's all god's word and it's unchanging and it's forever or it's not.
If I look around I will see proof of god's existence? Where? In a sunrise or a baby's laugh? In a planet "designed for us" of which a large majority of it is uninhabitable? Please. You're seeing what you want to see and nothing else.
How do we explain the similarities in the stories of the bible? How do you explain the glaring differences? There are literally tons of places in the bible where the facts don't match up, and not on little things, on BIG IMPORTANT THINGS! How did the spirit of god get these things wrong? I'll tell you this, people are retelling Batman's origin story decades after he was first published. Is Batman real?
"there will come a day will EVERY knee shall bow and EVERY tongue will confess that He is Lord. Pretty profound words for a "fairy tale". The really sad and crazy thing is that there is nothing to lose in believing in God and everything to gain... a life of hope, a life of purpose, and best of all, eternal life when we leave this world."
That's where it always ends, doesn't it? After all the love and hope messages, Christians always tell you how you're going to bend the knee one day to a jealous, petty, celestial tyrant who demands you worship him. Nothing to lose and everything to gain by believing? So, your god rewards a hypocrite who blindly worships him rather than a critical thinking believer in evidence and fact? That says a lot about your god and you.
And who says we don't have a life of hope and purpose? And you call us the arrogant ones...
Dawkins said Christianity has no moral compass by referring to the old testament. He avoided referring to
Jesus. I would like him to share his thought on Jesus and whether the New Testament has moral compass.
Christianity is about Jesus and to become like Him. If he doesn't understand that then he should not be in a
position to judge.
the golden rule is instinct... it is as old as time... it is so simple... yet somehow you can't understand it... why... you choose not to... and you pay for it
Actually you may not understand the lesson of the Old testament. There cannot be love with no discipline. Passions unchecked can turn very evil. Look at Islam and the vicious acts in the name of God. The main reason for the great increase of this is because the west has been soft and is trying to combat it with cookies.
love is a human creation to drive people to do things that go beyond their normal behavior and thus break the golden rule. would you die for the ones you love? would they for you? would you kill.. would they... the golden rule is so simple... if everyone understood it we would create heaven on earth... do you agree? we follow it in every decision we make. the problem is we don't understand it... even though it is so simple.
Uhh the only instance of "hell" is in the New Testament. Also, why discard the old Testament as you must understand it to understand the New Testament. Typical response from an American christian though, don't know your one books or how to think critically.
Might want to read your Bible a bit more closely. "Hell" is mentioned in Deuteronomy, 2 Samuel, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Jonah and Habbakuk.
God is dead!
Nietzsche is dead.
Gods die off, but religion carries on. Our collective psyche needs the security of certainty, even if it's a delusion.
OUCH! Touche...
Sadly, on a definitional basis, God cannot die. Your statement is flawed at the outset.
I find it amazing how so many atheists like to use this quote to support their positions. Yet what Nietzsche was saying was quite the opposite of what atheists seem to think. Nietzsche was saying that WITHOUT God, humankind is directionless and doomed. Here is the FULL quote, in context, not simply the out-of-context line that atheists like to provide:
""Where has God gone?" he cried. "I shall tell you. We have killed him – you and I. We are his murderers. But how have we done this? How were we able to drink up the sea? Who gave us the sponge to wipe away the entire horizon? What did we do when we unchained the earth from its sun? Whither is it moving now? Whither are we moving now? Away from all suns? Are we not perpetually falling? Backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there any up or down left? Are we not straying as through an infinite nothing? Do we not feel the breath of empty space? Has it not become colder? Is it not more and more night coming on all the time? Must not lanterns be lit in the morning? Do we not hear anything yet of the noise of the gravediggers who are burying God? Do we not smell anything yet of God's decomposition? Gods too decompose. God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we, murderers of all murderers, console ourselves? That which was the holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet possessed has bled to death under our knives. Who will wipe this blood off us? With what water could we purify ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we need to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we not ourselves become gods simply to be worthy of it? There has never been a greater deed; and whosoever shall be born after us – for the sake of this deed he shall be part of a higher history than all history hitherto."
Does anyone else noticed this, Richard Dawkins has the same sociopath evil eyes as Donald Rumsfeld does?
That is a very stupid comment.
No it's not, look at his picture on top of this page, the guy has eyes like a sociopath.
it wouldn't surprise me that you said that. After all,, christians created an anti-christ to get the religious to hate those who question religion's silliness.
Just because someone has similar eyes DOESN'T make them similar in personality. I guess thats down to your lack of reasoning capability which you show in all your troll posts
Dawkin's philosophies might work if the world were populated by 100+ IQ academic types. SInce it's not, he's pipe dreaming. With a lot of people, fear of God is the closest to morality you're going to get.
A lot of sociopaths have an IQ of over 100, that doesn't make Dawkins or any of them a better person. As a matter of fact, it could be very dangerous to listen to them.
It has nothing to do with being a better or worse person. It has to do with being smart enough to see religion for the myth that it is, not just one, but all religions.
Doesn't mean anything else, has nothing to do with anyone being a good or bad person. But, alas, you appear to be an under 100........
Atheists radical ideology makes you think that religious people are crazy. Reminds me of the whole saying " The whole world is f..ked up but i'm ok" That's exactly how you sound like.
Sorry i meant "The old saying"
atheistsareevil,, I really hope you grow up one day.
Do some research on the 'Flynn effect' and have some hope that most people won't remain mostly ignorant.
Do some research on professor John Lennox.
I've already watched Christopher Hitchens utterly demolish him in a debate. FYI, the Flynn effect is a study on how the average IQ raises a few points every few years because humans are increasingly inundated with more and more objects for visual analysis and more affluent as a whole.
That's kind of an entirely different topic altogether than anything having to do with religion.
So you're actually saying that your IQ level is higher than mine or anyone else here? Don't you think its being a little presumptuous.
well atheistsareevil,, thanks for proving to all of us how your critical thinking was destroyed by your witchcraft religion. More reason to treat religion as p-o-rrn and keep it away from kids till they reach 18.
Then again, the religious don't like that since the brainwashing doesn't stick as well if you don't begin early.
Wake up atheists, the golden rule would not put a sociopath on the right track, when a sociopath kills he thinks he's actually doing something good. The golden rule of Dawkins is just a word to brainwash his sheep into believing that it is the solution, just like Hitler did with his plan called The Solution.
People brainwash themselves and do some pretty bad things in the name of God too. This trait is not exclusive to atheists.
you are so simple minded its sad... yet you can't understand something as simple as the golden rule... what creates a sociopath.... other people who hurt him... so what does he do to fulfill the golden rule... he hurts other people... look it up... its so simple a child can understand...why can't you...
I have heard Dawkins asking his followers to raise up and stand their ground, he's a dangerous potential cult leader just like Koresh and others were.
actually,, christianity is a cult of cults
" when a sociopath kills he thinks he's actually doing something good" sounds like a religious person to me... 9//11 comes to mind
It is very understandable. It is impossible to prove religion. Also when you look around the world especially at religious Muslims you would be right to doubt the morality of religion.
Not all religion is the same.
they all seem to have similarities... what makes you think yours is right and they are wrong?
I never pretended that one religion is better or bad than any other. But i do say that atheism is just another kind of religion masked behind a form of belief. Godless but still a form of belief and a potential danger.
(stumbles in wearing pizza delivery livery, bearing two pies) Did someone order these two pizzas?
Richard Dawkins is a dangerous man who's trying to brainwash the mass into thinking that he holds the answer to all our problems.
no he doesn't... does religion... understanding solves all problems... do you understand everything... does religion... together we can try and understand... we may never... but to pretend we do ... doesn't solve problems... does it
You need religion. He needs reason. It is as simple as that.
I don't force religion of atheism on anyone, but i'm just being precautious about anyone who is forcing any kind of idealism on me.
Your handle alone implies a prescriptive view on belief. Do you understand how that is entirely hypocritical?
Do you understand that you just judged me because of the alias i'm using? Is that what Dawkins golden rule is teaching you? "Never judge a book by its cover" philosophy should be something you might consider instead of that golden rule.
Your handle is telling me that I'm 'evils'. So what you're saying is that you can judge my position but I have to back off yours because hey, it's just a nickname.
I'm done with you.
Wait, i'm not done with you yet.lol
I don't think athestsareevil is playing with a full deck.. Take it easy on the poster.
Oh the irony of a religious person accusing someone ELSE of brainwashing.......
Did i tried to brainwash you?
I wouldn't call him dangerous here. This is a very weak argument.
When someone who want to take over the world with an ideology then it is a dangerous person.
Atheists have nothing to offer. They can only attack and try to destroy everything other than atheism. The fact is: they must accept what is. They have no basis for justice, morality, health or any other thing that would remedy the undesirable aspects of this world. Life is tragedy without remedy.
Edmund said: They can only attack and try to destroy everything other than atheism. "speaking of atheism"
That's what makes Dawkins and atheism dangerous. Does Communism,Stalin,Popol,Hitler and many others ring a bell to you?
oh dear, the deluded found a keyboard.. a quick bit of advice for you... "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt." unfortunately its a bit late but useful for the future
No it doesn't but atheism is and could be even worst, without morality, atheism is bound to be worst if not more.
you still don't understand... morality is not based in religion... it is instinct... it is the golden rule... i'm nice to you and you will want be nice to me but you still have a choice ... i hurt you and you will want to hurt me.. but you still have choice ..... all religious laws are based on that.. ALL OF THEM... you can't control choice with anything.. even religion... but we all know what is right deep down... we simply choose not to... because we don't understand...
The problem is you don't understand that if you want to build a house you will a plan "blueprint", if you want to build an electronic circuit you will need a plan "circuit diagram". same thing goes for religion, God is a reference point "plan" to go thru life as a good person. Of course there will always be deviant people, just like there are in atheism, and some other cults and religions. Even science needs a reference point "hypothesis" to start with a theory. Atheism has no reference point at all. Dawkins believe that what makes non sense for someone don't necessary mean it's bad for someone else. Now we're having the acceptance of two people with same $ex getting married and considered normal, the next thing will be pedophilia and then bestiality and who knows whats next.. Don't say it won't happen because, remember what Dawkins is teaching "what looks or considered bad for one person doesn't mean that it is bad for someone else". That is why i still say that Dawkins is a danger to our society and the future generations. I agree that we need to change but Dawkins is neither the one or the person we are looking for or need for these changes to make this world a better place to live in.
i think i know why you choose religion... it offers forgiveness for those you have wronged... since you are too cowardly to ask them for forgiveness yourself... like most people... you would feel better if you made amends... trust me...
You have no clue of who i am. Even if i tell you, you would say i'm lying, so i will only say "don't judge me without knowing me" if it's what atheism is teaching you what you are accusing me of, then your golden rule has a bad start.
i don't think i've seen more rubbish posted than the drivel you have taken the time to type out.
"Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful." – Seneca the Younger
This is exactly why i say that Hawkins is not to be trusted, anyone claiming that their ideas are better than others is something we should all be careful of. History has taught us that every time someone who had a view of a perfect world always end up in disaster.
I'm glad all the hateful bigots with low IQs and a tenuous grasp on the English language that post their insight are on your side of the argument.
Kevin in case you don't know, the world is not only filled up of americans. No need to play the spelling bee hero.
You shouldn't always say what you know, but you should always know what you say.
"anyone claiming that their ideas are better than others is something we should all be careful of."
Ahhh, you mean like all you crazy religious folks?......(yours is the only one and true path ya know?...)
Clint who told you that i was a religious person, your atheism? Is that the golden rule of Dawkins that you're going by for insulting me? You should reconsider that golden rule because you're on the wrong track to become a good person.
Well if you aren't religious then I guess YouAreEvils.
You judged me again lol.
And in the end, you suppose, the atheists get to choose who is who.
I'm still waiting to hear why religion is not a moral compass. Islam certainly is a bad moral compass, but a moral compass nonetheless. I think what Dawkins would say if he had any inclination to do research is that what is missing in Islam is the prohibition against lawlessness and vengeance. Vengeance is mine saith the Lord. This no where to be found in the Koran. It offers God as merciful but gives no example of what a God of mercy would do. Atheism offers absolutely nothing at all. As he weakly scans history he flippantly excuses any influence whatsoever that God and God's people had on human morality – this is just silly. The influence of the Divine simply cannot be removed from the "what is" of human history.
Excellent point.
islam prays to the same god as the christians... read the whole bible and find recipes for God demanded child abuse (Abraham to knife his child to prove to god he loves him more), god demanded genocide of the Canaanites, homphobia, mysogyny etc etc. if you still believe the bible is a recipe for a moral compass then i worry for you.. You cannot ignore the bad bits in the bible and try and claim the high ground, it makes you look a fool
Professor Dawkins is smarter than anyone who's posted a comment on this article... myself included.
Reflect on that.
That's your point of view.
Smarter? Based on what?
In this instance, he makes contradictory statements that are impossible to prove (is why he doesn't provide any supporting references) about a field in which he lacks the rudimentary foundational training.
In fact, he isn't even an above average evolutionary biologist, which is his field of study. I think he got scared when he was asked about how the Law of Irreducible Complexity applied to some of his numerous, ever-changing theories of evolutionary biology.
Smarter? Na... Not even close.
you'll need to post a citation for that comment about dawkins being scared otherwise you'll just be seen to be pulling a stupid opinion out of your hat (which is the case)
Still waiting for an atheist to explain when and how the original solitary particle appeared to commence the Big Bang.
First, do me a solid and tell me what that would prove.
Kevin, scientists had being wrong before and they will be wrong again sooner or later. Science is not static.
What does that have to do with anything? I can think of a few priests who have been wrong. Are you ready to toss your religion out the window due to that fact?
Kevin, Help me...Inquiring minds who are not as astute as you would like to know. How did that particle which started the Big Bang appear in the first place?
PJ, i doubt Kevin will give you a direct answer. When atheists are cornered, they always go in different ways but the main subject.
How am I supposed to know? If you're so skeptical, then shouldn't you also apply that logic to religion?
Your arguments are a 2 way street, man. You cannot have it both ways.
I'd say the scientists out there have done a whole lot more work actually researching the universe and giving you a damned accurate picture that goes billion upon billions of years back than your 'faithful' who seem quite satisfied to just shrug and agree on the whole thing starting 10 thousands years after man domesticated the dog.
So yeah, PJ, you plan on addressing my question to you? Or do you find that logic unassailable. Because I've found that most of these conversations end when you get that mirror image of your faulty position.
Would prove your assertion that no God exists.
That you respond to such an obvious request with a question concedes the point. Now go back to your cave, monkey.
I am answering you back now because it is late here and I was sleeping. My response to you is that your belief as an atheist states that the universe came into existence through spontaneous generation, which has been found by science to be unfounded. In generic terms, nothing can be created from nothing. However this is my consensus of those who put science up on a pedestal. If one were to argue that "God spoke" or "God breathed" or "God created" and then applied the tenets of the Big Bang, then it would make sense. Because only an omniscient deity who formed the laws of nature could also break the laws of nature at His whim. The laws of motion, thermodynamics, physics etc, do not apply to the early stages of the Big Bang. That is scientific consensus. So it does make scientific sense to me that a deity who I refer to as God can make the universe in 6 days or in 13.8 billion years, can also "make the sun stand still" in figurative terms, or make the Red Sea part, or resurrect the dead. He also determines free will, but also determines when one will die, even though in my mind I find that superficially to be incredibly cruel. I could go on an on discussing scientific theory and the somewhat abysmal state this planet is in with regard to mankind. But science has shown me that there is a God, one God and that He is sovereign.
You are a complete lunatic.
Actually, let me just play your argument back to you.
"Still waiting for a theist to explain who created god"
Then tell me why your answer of no one satisfies you but if I were to tell you that solitary particle was here for eternity you would be equally dissatisfied.
Careful, you might fall off the edge of the earth......
Are you coming with me Clint?
Even if a Deity did it, all you are doing is shifting the question to who created the Deity in the first place.
The issue of the problem of the limits of science is that it is NOT a scientific issue. People without faith simply don't possess the mechanism for understanding faith, the same that people with faith can't NOT make the "leap of faith" once empiric, scientific observation has found its limit.
Atheists denies the fact that they too are having faith. Atheists have faith in their science and that is the truth.
Every living human has faith in cause and effect. Everyone has faith that gravity will work 100% of the time. That makes your point invalid and pointless.
I have faith in many things, just not your mythology. Religion does not have exclusive rights to the use of the word "faith" or it's meaning.
It's truly sad watching you religious types grasp at nothing to try to make an argument. Facts always win in the end.
Which facts are you talking about? Popol? Stalin? Communism? Atheism?
Oh, and for the record, I'm not an atheist or a religious nut. I'm just a non-religious human being in a world full of very strange people with strange and completely unproven beliefs.
That pretty much makes you an atheist. Don't worry, it's not a pejorative term.
Clint, by taking an atheist side, you take an atheist position.
Hi Clint,, you are a Realist.. That is exactly what a Realist position is,
Atheists come back i want a good argument with you, i'm not done yet lol
I suggest you grow up first and actually debate as an adult with 'reasoning'..
You are a sad little troll who is not that smart so a discussion with you is a waste of time
Oh well this is the silence before the big bang lol
Not seeing any answers to the world's problems by adhering to these views. He notes many half truths. There is an Old and New Testament, the new offering hope to humanity. What does this guy offer? Nothing but an empty glass.
Ahteistsareevils.....whoa.....common sense and depth. You should have hopped on board that train. Oh, well. Luckily, he does not live near me nor have any impact in my life beyond this one-time message: Boy, you done got messed up and think you're a good person. We see you in another light. Sorry. You are what you are and your kind have to be carefully monitored.
@Todd – I would agree that Dawkins' tone at times is caustic, unpleasant. Although I agree with the harms he has noted, I don't agree with a militant approach he and a few others have chosen.
Having said that, you stated, "There is an Old and New Testament, the new offering hope to humanity." But I would offer that the chance for an unproven eternal life creates a disconnectedness to our current lives and conditions, as religious people walk through somewhat of a trance in view of the threats and challenges facing us. Although religion does bring some morality (and immorality), this disconnectedness it brings to accepting and fixing the here-and-now is very damaging.
Dawkins likes to set himself up as the "voice of reason," but I find man of his views anything but and (despite his claims) he does shrilly shout. For his "logical" views, he scoffs at the idea that a divine being (a greater power) could have guided evolution, but in the next breath he suggests that possibly advanced aliens (a greater power) "seeded" the earth with matter that spurred evolution.
Ok, but do you have any evidence to show that a divine being is guiding evolution? Have you noticed that religion continues to retreat from science – evolution was denied by many believers, but now it is accepted by many believers as a means to explain the truths in front of us, truths that can not continue to be masked by religious explanations.
thankfully secular society tamed religions in the USA.. Hadn't they, it'd be like the middle east here - except with christians.
Morality was developed by individual, atheist included. The bible is just primitive man's manipulations. It is distorted, conflicting and full of comic book riddles.
The veneration of society for scientist make people allow them to rule on matters they don't know about like moral, let those scientist rule on biology and stuff BUT NOT ABOUT MORAL which they don't know nothing about.
morality and generally doing good comes from people, atheists included. Religion clearly has no corner on that. In fact religion keeps scr–ewing it up
"Now of course we don't do that anymore, but the reason we don't do it is that we pick out those verses of the bible that we like, and reject those verses we don't like. What criteria do we use to pick out the good ones and reject the bad ones? Non-biblical criteria, non-religious criteria. The same criteria as guide any modern person in their moral compass that has nothing to do with religion."
That's a funny way of saying adapting...
I personally don't agree with him, but it's his opinion.
Dawkins and the New Testament agree...Romans 2:14-15 says that the laws of right and wrong are written in men's hearts...that is why the Gentiles do by nature what is right. Religion has developed in every society in history and helps keep the less intellectual and capable individuals in check by the elite. It does serve a purpose.
Yes, but then there are the parts where people do what is not "written in men's hearts" but what is written in their holy books (the immoralities).
You can be a firm believer in the existence of a higher power and be totally against religion and what it's doing in today's world. man invented religion and uses it, in most cases, to exert power through brainwashing and guilt. all religion should do is make the individual a better person and the group more caring for others. these days, it's used to give people permission to feel superior to others and discriminate. i do believe most atheists are not so opposed to God as they are to how God is portrayed by most religions. i don't like that 'God,' either.
I listened to this guy on NPR the other day. A real arrogant puke.
He will only sound arrogant to you because he was probably trashing your small minded world view. When someone is thoroughly trounced by good argument then they get personal.
I would not let someone's aversion to religion shut off a very significant aspect of human life , which is spirituality. We are meant to be a species that lives more thoroughly than a mere grubbing for existence. How many athiests read horoscopes or practice new age beliefs or meditation or something else?


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What are the top teams expected for NWC this year?
Posted 15 February 2011 - 07:45 PM
Posted 28 February 2011 - 07:20 PM
Posted 08 March 2011 - 02:28 PM
Posted 08 March 2011 - 03:48 PM
Posted 09 March 2011 - 08:55 AM
Very much agreed, not one team is stacked in running events over the other, individual events are out and that only leaves each teams relays to decide who wins.
Posted 09 March 2011 - 08:38 PM
Posted 10 March 2011 - 09:01 AM
Yes, and no. It could go both ways with the field events. Looking over the teams for this year not really one team sticks out as a dominate team, Althought ther are some returning guys from various teams that will make this year interesting.
Posted 14 March 2011 - 02:02 PM
Posted 15 March 2011 - 08:01 AM
Posted 15 March 2011 - 08:43 PM
Posted 16 March 2011 - 07:53 AM
Posted 17 March 2011 - 08:19 PM
p.s. Word is Bubba Krieg is hitting the track after the disappointing loss to O.G...anybody who is familiar with LCC sports knows the kid is an athlete and definitely could help out those relays.
Posted 18 March 2011 - 08:48 PM
If im not mistakin ..rogers ran i think a 10.98 last yr nd johnson ran a 11.01 and they are coming back alot faster and stronger lil rogers is probably about 11 flat if not fast and bubba kreig close to that i put my money on lcc with no doubt ..cray thing about it is that they could careless about the conference they want that state title more than anything but they want to break that 4x1 conference record and they said they will
Posted 19 March 2011 - 09:49 AM
Most importantly.... LET'S SEE SOME RECORD BREAKING PERFORMANCES
Posted 22 March 2011 - 09:57 PM
Columbus Grove will be very good as far as field events are concerned. Wolfe is pretty much an automatic first at every meet in pole vault. Kohls went 6'4" in the high jump last year, making it to state, and he is back. Grothaus jumped just under 20' in the long jump last year as a sophomore......he should easily hit 20' this year. Their strongest and deepest field events are the shot and disc. They have 4 seniors who will throw 140+ in disc, and 2 sophomores at 130+. Parker Schroeder threw 49' in the indoor season and should make it above 50' in the shot, with 5 others over 40'. They will likely sweep most meets in these 2 events, and should easily win at Bearcat relays (and possibly break the discus record). They are very solid in their relays and distance events on the track as well. The sprinting events are probably their biggest weakness.
Posted 25 March 2011 - 10:18 AM
Posted 27 April 2011 - 05:55 PM
I think that Bluffton is looking strong. Their boys' distance relays are dominating the field right now, and their 4x200 is right up there also. They also have the hurdler, Luginbuhl, as well as another who's a close second. Individually, they have a lot of guys.
LCC, Spencerville, and Grove, of course, will be strong as well. It should be a good meet to watch.
Posted 28 April 2011 - 02:50 PM
Posted 29 April 2011 - 07:24 PM
From what I remember seeing throughout the track season, these are some of Spencerville's bests:
-They are pretty solid in running mid-45 second 4x100 relays with their A-team. I could see them dropping that to sub-45.
-Thier 4x200 relay is alright, nothing special. It seems they run about a 1:34-1:36 pretty consisitantly with their A-team.
-They run right around a solid 3:40 4x400 every meet.
-They have four kids running sub-55 second 400s.
-They are alright in the 100m and 200m dash category. Nobody blazing fast, but three kids ranging from 11.4-11.7 in the 100.
-They have two high jumpers who have both jumped 6'2".
-Their hurdler, Meyer, seems to be very good.
-They have one good long jumper, whom I am guessing we all have heard of: Binkley. Besides him, they have two able to jump 18'.
-They seem to have a bit of strength in the distance with the Lenhart brothers, aswell as their 4x8 team.
-They lack in pole vaulting and shot put, but have one athlete who throws 130'+ in discuss.
Spencerville seems to have a pretty solid track team, just like Bluffton and Grove. It will come down to a margin of very little between the three teams to decide the NWC championship, easily.
I can't wait. GREAT competition.
Edited by AnonymousGrowl, 29 April 2011 - 07:25 PM.
Posted 05 May 2011 - 02:10 PM
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Last week (was it really that long ago?) I had the choice opportunity to work with some great folks to present the concept of family history research to a group of young folks (ages 8 through 16) at the NGS conference in Salt Lake City. It was an interesting experience because the "audience" included people of all ages (many adults joined their children/grandchildren) and they seemed to appreciate the "kids' songs" even more than the youth.
I started the program with the song "Old Dan Tucker," which is one I remember fondly from my own childhood (I've discussed this, and some others, on the earlier blog about my new "Songs of Early Childhood" CD). I informed the kids that their ancestors did not have CD or MP3 players, so they made their own music and this was one example. Personally, I fell in love with the song when I was a kid and would visit my grandfather. He had an extensive collection of 78 rpm records (which I have inherited).
I also performed "Tom Dooley," but didn't go into great detail about the back story on that (it's a bit racy). But I did mention something I have remembered since that song first hit the airwaves in 1958: my elementary school music teacher, Miss Shaddock (spelling may be wrong here), taught music to one of the members of the Kingston Trio (no, I don't remember which one, I'm afraid). When she told the class about that, I was quite impressed, even though I was very young - I really enjoyed their music from my earliest memory.
I told the back story of "Pretty Little Horses" (see earlier blog) and we discussed lullabies. I was pleased to see so many hands go up when I asked who had been sung to sleep by family members. I also sang "Go Tell Aunt Rhody" (which some people consider a lullaby) and "She'll be Coming 'Round the Mountain." In this latter one, I got the group doing the motions that accompany the words (they knew them better than I) and pointed out that the motions and some of the verses were a modern addition. This actually makes the song more of a "Play Party" piece - the songs that were created to circumvent dancing prohibition of an early American society.
In between songs, we did a little storytelling. I told a couple, then the audience members got involved. It was great: they told stories of injuries (of their own and others in the family or circle of friends - good thing no names were given as some of the narratives could have been considered embarrassing . . . you know how kids can get!), messes, disobeying rules, and scary situations. Some of the adults got into the storytelling, too, which made it even more enjoyable for me (I love stories and could hear and understand the adults' stories a little better than those the kids told). Then I informed them that they might want to share these stories in the years to come, so they should write them in their journals . . . time will dull the memory of something that seems so vivid today. But I also reminded them that, for our ancestors, stories and songs were often used to communicate a message or warning about things they should not do; many of their stories could serve that same purpose in the future with their children.
I don't know if the program had the desired effect, but I hope that my songs and stories gave those present a reminder that family history is not just names, dates, and places: it's experiences, interests, activities, occupations, and relationships. Through the songs and stories of earlier generations, we can connect with our ancestors. So take a break: tell a family story this weekend and make sure there's a record of it. Let's not lose these pieces of our lives to history!
Friday, May 7, 2010
Songs and Stories Keep the Past Alive: A Reflection on Kids' Camp at NGS
Posted by Jean Hibben at 2:52 PM
3 comments:
I also loved "Old Dan Tucker" as a kid! Jean, do you know of a good resource for titles and origins of lullabies and other traditional songs if all that is known are lyrics? Google has not turned up anything on a song I remember from childhood.ReplyDelete
Jean, I'm related to one of "Tom Dooley's" lawyers -- in the Armfield family. I got to tell that story to one of the current members of the Kingston Trio who lives in the Greensboro area. There is an annual reenactment of the Tom Dula trial.ReplyDelete
I, of course, love the music that you do!ReplyDelete
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Before moving on to the book review, here's an update on an item I mentioned in last Friday's Slumgullion column. Bangles vocalist-guitarist Vicki Peterson and Susan Cowsill of The Cowsills will be recording a CD together under the name The Psycho Sisters. They're asking for funds via the Kickstarter site. With 18 days to go, it looks like a safe bet The Psycho Sisters will reach their goal of $7,000 since they're already at the $5,587 mark. There are some interesting perks for helping out. Peterson and Cowsill were also members of the alt rock/Americana supergroup, The Continental Drifters.
Also, another bit that came to my attention after I posted last Friday's Slumgullion: Crawpuppies, whose 2011 release, World's Much Bigger, was a top notch collection of Midwestern rock and power pop tunes, have a gig this Thursday night, March 8th, at the Elbo Room at 2012 N. Lincoln Avenue. They'll be supporting up-and-coming Country & Western singer-guitarist Danika Holmes. The power pop band Five Star Deluxe and grunge/alt rock band ALMA (A Life More Acceptable) are also on the bill.
And now on to noted critic Tyler McMahon's novel, How The Mistakes Were Made. This is the second book I've read about a young woman singer in an alt-rock band; Stephanie Kuehnert's compelling I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone being the first. Hopefully, there's still some room out there for my novel about a female punk rock singer, which I'll be finishing soon. Note: A slightly shorter version of this review originally appeared in the Illinois Entertainer.
Tyler McMahon's novel How The Mistakes Were Made takes the form of a tell-all autobiography by a fictional punk rock legend named Laura Loss. Writing in first person as Loss, McMahon kicks things off with a double mystery. One involves her role in the demise of her most recent band, The Mistakes and the other concerns the tragic fate of brother Anthony, the charismatic founder of her first band , SCC.
The bulk of the novel is Loss's account of how she formed The Mistakes with vocalist-bassist Nathan and guitarist Sean, a pair of naive but gifted country boys who literally show up on her doorstep after having met her a few months earlier at a club. Every other chapter gives a brief glance at her performances with her brother's hardcore band, her deep bond with him, and his love-hate relationship with the fans who ultimately betray him. Surprisingly, McMahon doesn't make Loss the driving force in either band. As a young newcomer, she takes a back seat to Anthony in SCC, and is almost immediately eclipsed talent-wise by Sean and Nathan in The Mistakes. That diminishes her appeal somewhat for the reader.
The occasional references to Nirvana effectively establish the time and place of the novel and add authenticity to The Mistakes' similarly unexpected rise to the top of the Billboard charts. The band is undone by the usual pitfalls of alcohol abuse and tension among its members, and it doesn't help that Loss has sex with both Sean and Nathan. The affairs take a particularly heavy toll on the already emotionally stunted Sean, who like Loss's brother Anthony, seemed doomed from the start.
McMahon resolves the twin mysteries in the emotional final chapters of How The Mistakes Were Made, and along the way creates a compelling if occasionally over-the-top portrait of rock musicians on the road and in the recording studio. Loss doesn't quite acquit herself of the accusations heaped on her by the media and devoted followers of The Mistakes, but most readers will embrace her as a sympathetic and believable character.